Drop Out
by greaserlove
Summary: When Soda told his family he wanted to drop out. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton does.**

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Drop Out.

Sodapop Curtis fidgeted in his chair at the dinner table, mentally kicking himself in the head for calling the family meeting. Pony sat at the left side of the table, staring off at the wall in the distance. He'd spaced out for the past couple of weeks after _it _happened.

Darry tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Soda to speak. He wasn't really in the greatest of moods, having to take care of Pony and his nightmares that had been happening lately. He raised an eyebrow towards Soda, hoping he'd say what he thought was important enough to call the meeting.

Soda felt his brain freeze and instantly lost his courage in telling his family his newest idea. They would never approve and the arguments that would come of it would make his head ache for days. He _had _to tell them. If he didn't, they'd be on the streets in a short period of time. He remembered their faces at the funeral, though only through blurred vision.

_Darry stood by the two graves, his head down. "Anything you want to say, Pepsi-Cola?" He asked Soda, his voice shaking nervously. Soda looked up at Darry and shook his head. His fists clenched and he felt tears well up in his eyes. Darry looked at Pony, hoping he was okay. Pony merely stared into the distance, not moving a muscle or making one expression. His eyes were glazed over and Darry immediately felt sick all over._

"_Soda, honey, you take Pony home, alright?" He told Soda, who quickly obeyed by taking Pony's hand and leading him away from the cemetery. Darry tried to get rid of the images of his parents in his head, but when they left for that split second another worry besides Ponyboy came into place. Money._

Soda wasn't the brightest of the bunch, but he understood people quite well. He knew there would be problems without their parents and he knew Darry wouldn't be able to handle it on his own. Darry cleared his throat and Soda looked directly at him.

"I think," He started nervously, his voice quivering. He cleared his throat and continued. "I'm going to work at the DX full time." He finished, looking hopefully at Darry. He tried one of his grins to make Darry smile, but all he got was a frown. Darry was silent for a few moments, then he spoke.

"Soda, you don't mean dropping out, do you?" He asked, a confused expression covering his face. Soda sighed then looked at Ponyboy, who was still staring at the wall appearing to not have heard anything. "Darry…" Soda started. Darry froze and stared at Soda. Soda continued.

"Darry, you don't make a whole lot of money roofing houses, so I figured I could drop out and work at the DX and help pay for everything."

Darry looked down, then shook his head.

"Soda, you don't have to drop out. I have everything figured out-" He paused. "Can we continue this in another room?" He said, looking at Ponyboy, who was still staring at the wall. Soda nodded and they headed to Pony and his room and left Pony to let his head stay in the clouds.

Darry continued.

"Soda, I'm not going to college. Without the bills for college we can pay most of the bills."

"MOST? God damn it, Darry. _Most_ of the bills won't let us stay together. If I drop out and work full time at the DX we'll be able to pay them. Besides, it's not like I'm doing well in school anyways." Soda explained, looking deep into Darry's eyes. Darry sighed, then nodded, despite the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. A grin covered Soda's face, even though he tried to hide it.

"Thanks, Dar. For making sure we can stay together." He thanked Darry, then jumped onto his lap. Darry couldn't help but smile too and wrapped his arms around Soda. Soda felt his eyes slightly blur and he wiped them quickly. Darry, though he treasured education and felt it to be very important, knew he had done the right thing.

"I'll call the school tomorrow and set up a meeting." Darry said, trying to get out of Soda's arms which had wrapped around him and wouldn't let go. "Sodapop Patrick Curtis…" He started, trying to wiggle out. After Soda wouldn't let go, Darry spun around and sent him flying to his bed. He fell off the bed and stood up, still smiling. Darry covered his mouth to keep from laughing, whereas Soda laughed loudly for quite awhile.

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Later that night, Soda lay in his and Pony's bed. He threw and arm over Pony and snuggled closer to him, hoping everything would work out as well as he'd planned. He'd be proved as responsible for once, working to take care of a family. _Maybe_, he thought, _I'll marry Sandy. And I'll take care of her just like I'm taking care of Ponyboy. _

He smiled with his eyes closed, thinking of Sandy. The thought of Sandy was a lot more warming that what kept coming into his mind. _Drop Out. _He shook the words away from his mind and tried to think of how what he did was a good thing, but the words made him feel queasy. He had to get rid of the words, make them escape his mind. He took a deep breath.

"I'm a drop out." He whispered into the darkness, then drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of his parents, Sandy, and Pony and Darry.

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**This story came randomly to me when I was trying to get out of a writers block. I hope you enjoyed it )**


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